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DFS to Open First Stores in Europe

Duty free luxury retailer is aiming its strategy at Chinese tourists

Published

11 years ago

October 29, 2013

steve kaufman

DFS Group Ltd. (Hong Kong) has announced plans to open its first European stores, aimed almost entirely at Chinese tourists.

The duty free retailer that has transitioned into luxury plans to add “a few” outlets in Europe in 2016 and is looking at prime destinations for Chinese tourists, such as France, Italy and Switzerland. Chief operating officer Michael Schriver said the retailer gets more than half of its global sales from Chinese shoppers.

To that end, he said, DFS also plans to increase floor space by 40 percent at its existing stores in Macau to cope with the increasing number of Chinese tourists.

“We invest a lot in building awareness among mainland Chinese at our shops here in Hong Kong and in other parts of the world,” said Schriver. “Chinese customers will continue to account for more than half of our revenue in several years to come.” He didn’t disclose the number of stores planned for Europe.

Though DFS is owned by Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, it has had no European presence.

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